Cleared by her doctor earlier in the day to play after being sidelined for 6 months rehabbing a torn ACL, South Elgin junior guard Savanah Uveges served notice Thursday night shes ready to get back to being her all-area self.

Playing somewhat limited minutes in her first game competition since July 14, Uveges was, well, Uveges when it counted most. She scored 7 of her 11 points and had 2 key rebounds in the fourth quarter as the Storm held off Burlington Central 44-41 in nonconference girls basketball action on Rocket Hill.

Its really indescribable, said the 5-foot-9 Uveges of being back in action. Ive been out for so long, I feel like half my life was torn away from me. Rehab almost became my new sport. Obviously I cant be myself after being out (nearly 6 months). I wasnt in the groove of things at first. I told my dad (South Elgin assistant John Uveges) at halftime that I wasnt happy with myself. I wanted to be myself before surgery.

By the fourth quarter, she was.

Thats when I felt like myself again, she said. I just let my instincts take over and hoped for the best.

South Elgin coach Tim Prendergast was quick to acknowledge what Uveges return means to his team, which moved to 11-9 on the season with the win.

The one thing Ive said all along is that not having Savanah has allowed some other players to play more than they would have if wed had her. Now, we add Savanah to the mix and weve got more ballhandling and were more athletic. Shes the total package. We knew things would be a struggle without Savanah but now that shes back Im really looking forward to the rest of the season.

It looked early on like Uveges return might not make a difference. Burlington Central, playing without ill sophomore center Alison Colby, raced out to an 18-10 lead after one quarter and still led 20-11 early in the second when all of a sudden, things went south for the Rockets. They didnt score again over the final 7:14 of the period, they committed 9 turnovers and by the end of the quarter South Elgin had grabbed a 22-20 lead.

We played young at times tonight, reasoned BC coach Mark Smith of his freshman-laden team.

We switched out of our zone to a man and our zone is usually pretty good, said Prendergast. Im really impressed with Burlington. Theyve got some shooters. We knew they were really young but theyre going to be putting the hurt on some people the next couple of years.

South Elgin, which could be without senior reserve Amanda Behles for the rest of the season (torn ligaments in an ankle), led 31-24 after 2 free throws from sophomore Cara Fahey with 49 seconds left in the third quarter, but freshman Kayla Ross scored with 5 seconds left and then South Elgin turned the ball over and Ross made a layup at the buzzer to make it a 31-28 game going into the final quarter.

The Rockets (15-4) grabbed a 37-36 lead on a basket from freshman Shelby Holt with 3:32 left in the game. Then it became Uveges time. She gave the Storm the lead for good with a putback with 3:12 left. With 2:01 to play she drove the lane to make it 40-37, then with 1:28 to go, she hit an off-balance runner, was fouled and made the free throw to put South Elgin up 43-37.

Down the stretch Uveges made some nice plays. Shes got some experience and it showed, said Smith, whose team was 17 of 46 shooting and just 4 of 21 from 3-point range and had 21 turnovers. I felt like we rushed it a few times and you have to have patience and make the defense work. Colby being out hurt some; shes our leading rebounder. But we needed to show more patience.

The Rockets did make a final run at the lead. Ross made 2 free throws with 25 seconds left to make it a 43-39 game and when South Elgin was called for traveling on the inbounds play, BC had a chance. But the Rockets missed 2 shots before they got a dead ball rebound and Samantha Pryors layup with 9 seconds to play made it 43-41. But Delaney Kelleher made 1 of 2 free throws with 3 seconds to go and the Storm escaped with the win.

Our bench did an outstanding job tonight, said Prendergast, whose team hosts Waubonsie Valley tonight in Upstate Eight Valley action. This was a fun game. First time Ive been here, and it was a fun game.

Holt led the Rockets with 15 points. Pryor added 9 and Ross had 8 points and 7 rebounds.

Its good for us to be in games like this, said Smith. Its a learning process and a maturation process. No one likes to lose but you learn lessons when you lose and defeat makes you stronger.